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“Call her again,” I ordered. Tires squealing, I rounded the corner. My emergency flashers were blinking, but only because Gianni had turned them on. She was on the phone with a cop friend. But I didn’t care. I grabbed my phone from the cup holder and dumped it in her lap. “Call her again.”
“Hey, I gotta go. Later.” She ended the call and used my phone to call Tina’s number. The ringing was loud enough that I heard it. But Tina didn’t answer.
By the time it went to voicemail, I was close enough to see the turn for the street to Tina’s office.
Time seemed to melt into slow motion. It took forever to get to Tina’s office.
Tina would be fine.
I tried to console myself. She was smart and strong. And Cecil was a dumb fuck. No way could he deal with her.
It’s not just Cecil. It’s Simone, too.
That was another reason I was speeding. I slammed on the brakes so hard, the car behind had to lock theirs to keep from hitting me. I didn’t care. I parked in front of Tina’s office, and jumped out, the keys still in the ignition, and ran to the door.
I pounded on the door.
“Tina!”
The blinds were closed. But she’d told me she planned on doing that to focus on the new project.
I pounded harder.
“Tina!”
But the only sounds were behind me, a car’s engine going quiet. Car doors slamming. Gianni’s voice.
None of that mattered.
I hit the door again and shouted her name louder. “Tina!”
“Excuse me!”
I whipped my head around to see an older woman glaring at me from the office next door.
“Sir, that’s unnecessary—”
“Do you have a key to Tina’s office?” I demanded.
She withdrew. Either the look on my face or the sound of my voice cutting through her irritation.
“Ma’am,” Gianni said, her voice softer. “Tina and James are dating. We have some…unnerving information, and Tina’s not answering her phone. I’m a private investigator—the police are on their way if that helps.”
“Oh. Oh, my. Hold on.” She glanced at me, clearly still uneasy, but she disappeared into her office and returned a moment later, holding out a key with a plastic clip attached, Tina’s name printed on it. “She’s a sweetie. I hope everything is okay.”
I left Gianni to handle the office neighbor and went back to the door. It took two tries to unlock it, adrenaline making me unsteady. Finally, it clicked, and I yanked open the door, calling her name.
“Ti…na.” It caught in my throat on the second syllable as I took in the small space, usually neat as a pin.
The high-top work table was turned on its side and the large monitor was on the floor.
The office desk had a drink spilled all over it, the monitor face down in the liquid. Moving farther inside, I scanned the room.
“Don’t touch anything, James,” Gianni said from behind me.
Mutely, I nodded as I moved, still searching, though it was obvious she wasn’t here.
The darkened hall caught my eye, and I moved closer until I could give it a quick glance. Pictures were on the floor, glass shattered. The back door was partially opened, something blocking it from shutting all the way.